Explosive-engine.



- PATENTED JUNE 26, 1906.

B. J; WOOLF. EXPLOSIVE ENGINE.

APPLIGATIOII FILED HAYE, 1904.

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No. 2324,3916. PATENTED JUNE 26, 1906. E. J. WOOLP.

EXPLOSIVE ENGINE.

APPLICATION FILED MAYF). 1904.

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PATENTED JUNE 26, 1906.

E. 1. WOOLP.

EXPLOSIVE ENGINE.

APPLICATION FILED MAYfi, 1904- 5 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

P ATENTED JUNE 26, 1906.

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E. J. WOOLF.

EXPLOSIVE ENGINE.

APPLICATION FILED MATE), 1904.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 5.

1s; or iiiiin iiaro civnL-vn erlnn OF linemen? O'Tiiz' qjll rqhonftitqitay concern: BQyj-tgkI10NIl that l, ELLIS J WooLF, a citizen of theUnited States, residing at Minne- ,-;apolis, in the county .of Hennepinand State 9 131 Minnesota have-inven ted certain new and ;v;u'sefuliImprovements in Explosive-Engines gand l do hereby-declare thefollowing to be a ful l,s clear, andexact description of the invention-,such as willrenable others skilled in the roflartfto which itiappertains to make and use i,-;the: S-aii1e.[: 3;" i My inventionrelates to explosive-engines, and has for'its .;,p'or-tant; improvementstherein with a view rsgofssecuring increased efficiency; and to this.:-vices and combinations of devices hereinafter "described, and'definedm the claim-5:.

1:4 Some features. of the engine herein disaclosed-lare disclosed .andbroadly claimed in (rn15 "-.prior'-patent, No. 683,886, of dateOctoehierr 1901.

eiMy invention 'is -'=illust rated in the accom- --=.panyingdrawingsfwh'erein like notations reer tqlike parts throughout theseveral views.

-m se'ctio'n, fs orne' parts broken away and 'th BSLIQHIOYBd, showing anexplosive-enonstructedin; accordance with my inri-ti'onf' Fig.- 2' isT-avertical section on the ne 32 00 of'Fig. 1 or in the plane of thecranklrajfflaXisx i Fig; 3is a vertical cross-section 'n' theline m m ofFig. 2 Fig. 1 is'a horizon- CrO's's SectiOn/On the line as actor Fig, 3.

- ofFigj, andFig. 6 is a; horizontal crossection-on. the line as a: ofFig. 2.

i- Three castings" (marked, respectively, 1, 2, o aIid 3-lare-r1g1dlysecured together with suitjabl" packed joints. Said castings 1 and 2each the-outer membersof the Application and May 5,1904. Serial No.206,463.

1 three cranks on the shaft 4:.-

objaect to provide certain i1n-' diny;inventionzconsists of the novel de1 aid 'drawings",.higure 1 is a view chiefly end -'elevatio n,- but withsome parts shown,

igE' S is-aihorizontal cross-section on the line The upper casting 3 isof the proper shape to afiord a pair of segmental guides 12 for theupper end portion of the upper piston 9, with clear 'ance between thetwo for'the outward passage of the cross-head pin 'and to incase andafford the necessary clearance for the actionof said cross-head pin 10and its connecting-rods 11. The casting '2 is of the proper form forcooperation with the caste ing 3 to incase and afford clearance for theconnecting-rods 11 and for cooperation with the base-casting 1 to incasethe cranks of the shaft 1. The casting 2 also affords-a waterjacketspace 0 surrounding the explosive-cyh inder.- The other opposing pistonis differential and encircles crank-shaft 4, with its upper or sizialler member 13 working in said common er, the exhaus ber 13 of se.

elosion-cylinder 6 and controlling differential piston is connected byfour s y-spaced rods 1 1 with its differential or irger member 15, whichworks in a cylinder 7.6, formed in the'base-casting 1.

a cross-head pin 17, connected by rod 18 with the central member of thethree cranks .on the shaft 4. opposite or one hundred and eighty degreesapart from the outer pair of cooperating crankson the said shaft, whichare connected by the rods 11 to the upper or otheropposing piston 9. Thetwo opposing pistons, it Will thus be seen, are connected to opposingcranks from opposite sides of the crank-shaft.

It must be understood that the rods 14 are only one convenient means forconnecting the two members 13 and 15 of the difierential piston and thatanylother suitable construction couldbe employed, such as a singlecasting connecting the said members and cut away to afford the necessaryclearance to pass and encircle the crankshaft. p

The castings 1, 2, and 8 are oi such construction that the two opposingpistons, mount-- ed as described, divide all the interior space outsidethe explosion-cylinder, exhaust port,

andwater-jacket into two chambers, and

" which, respectively, serve as a compression chamber and alubricating-chamber B. The said compression-chamber A partly en circlesthe differential cylinder 16 and communicates with the lower open end ofsaid cylort 8. The said smaller mem- Said central crank is directly.

'The said larger member 15 is provided with fine inder below thedifferential piston 15 and is provided with a charging-passage a,leading to the admission-port 7 of the explosion-cylinder 6. The saidcompression-chamber A is provided with a suitable inlet-valve 19 for theexplosive mixture (shown as of the Lunkenheimer type) and as located atthe compressing end of said charging passage a. The admission-port 7 ofthe explosion-cylinder is a part of the charging-passage a, leading fromthe compression-chamber A, and is provided at a point therein mostremote from the mixture-inlet valve 19 with an adjustable air-admissionvalve 20, adapted to admit air alone .to the outer end of thecharging-passage coincidently with the drawing in of the explosivemixture into the compressionchamber A through said mixture-inlet valve19, thus causing a column of air to be encaged within said charging-portfor admission to the explosion-cylinder in advance of the explosivemixture, for purposes which will later more fully appear in tracing theoperation of the engine. A hand-controlled governing-valve '21 islocated in the chargingport a, directly inward of the mixture-inletvalve 19, in position to throttle either the passage from saidinlet-valve to the compression-chamber or to throttle thecha'rgingpassage'a, leading from the compression-chamber A to theadmission-port 7 of the explosion-cylinder. Having regard to the other.

or so-called lubricatingchamber B, it issuflicient to note at this placethat the same is in communication with all the interior working parts ofthe engine and is completely separated from said compression-chamber A.

The exhaust-port 8 completely encircles the explosion-cylinder 6 and isfitted with an exhaust-pipe 22. The explosion-cylinder 6 is providedwith a suitable magnetic sparkingplug 23 with its pair of electrodeslocated in an electric circuit (not? shown) and intended to be suppliedwith current from any suitable source. Said explosioncylinder 6 is alsoshown as provided with an ordinary reliefcock 24.

The water-jacket space 0 is provided with a suitable overflow-pipe 25.

A stand-pipe 26 is suitably supported so as to be partly above andpartly below the water-supply level and is provided at its lower endwith a pair of check-valves 27 and 28 for controlling the flowagethrough the watercirculating system. The stand-pipe 26 is provided withan inflow-pipe 29, below the water-supply levehand with circulating ordistributing pipes 30, leading to the waterjacket space 0 of theexplosion-cylinder 6. One section of the distributing-pipes 30 isprovided with a hand-controlled throttle-valve 31, for regulating theamount of the flowage, and is also provided with an air-reservoir 32 forcushioning the action and making the flowage continuous under theimpulses smaller imparted from the stand-pipe, as will later more fullyappear. The upper end portion of the stand-pipe 26 is in communicationthrough pipe 33 with the small port 34 in the explosion-cylinder 6,,controlled, as shown,- by the'upper member 9 of the two opposingpistons, in virtue of which connections fluid from theexplosion-cylinder will be admitted to the stand-pipe and subsequentlyexhausted therefrom with the exhaust from the engine, which actionsrender the said fluid operative to force the water from the stand-pipethrough the circulating system for cooling the engine.

Operation: All the parts have now been specified, and the actions ofmore or less thereof are probably clear from the detail description. Itmay be serviceable, however, to summarize the operation of the engine,first considering the distribution of the gases, then the distributionof the cooling-water, and, finally, the distribution of thelubricating-Oil. Under the upper or suction stroke of the differentialpiston the explosive mix ture will be drawn in through the inlet-valve19 into the compression-chamber.A, and at the same time air alone willbe drawn through the air-admission valve 20 into the upper end portionof the charging-passage a, thereby filling said charging-passage with acolumn of air, which becomes encaged therein between the explosivemixture and the admission-port 7 of the explosion-cylinder 6. Otherwisestated, the chest of the admission-port 7 is a part of saidcharging-passage a, and the encaged column of air will occupy the sameand be admitted to the cylinder in advance of the explosive mixture. Onthe return or down ward stroke of said differential piston the explosivemixture within the compressionchamber A will be compressed and forced uward behind the encaged column of air wit in the said charging-passage,thereby also compressing the enc aged air to the same pres-- sure. Thetwo opposing pistons move outward coincidentally in respect to thecenter of the explosion-cylinder 6, and it follows that under theoutward or compressing stroke of the differential piston its smallermember 18will uncover the exhaust-port 8, and the outward movement oftheupper. or

other opposing piston 9 will uncover the adwhich follows from thecompression-chamber 'A. The ports 7 and 8 both entirely encircle theexplosion-cylinder 6, and the head: of the member 13 of the differentialpiston the spent gases exhaust outward in an "-"-*sheetfro all'sidesthrough the exhaust-port H coming charge thus entering onadi'alonvergent 'lines through the admisp ortj willmeetat the axialcenter of the p osio" cylinder 6 directly under the flat ea dfo' andwill be deflected owfiwardfby the said piston through the Eiiti'aPzone{of the explosion-cylinder until it sthe hefad fof the opposing piston13 at p central portlon thereof, whereupon the n "jf sa id centralcolumn of the incoming charge zo" will be deflected'outward and upwardby said piston '13, so" as to form an intermediate columr'r encirclingthe down-moving central col- -uriiii a'ndfr'n'o vin'g upward until itmeets the *fradial sheet of'theincoming charge still en- 25 teringthrough thefport '7, whereupon said infterihediate' column will beredeflected out- *wai'dfianddownward the outer zone or ada'rittb thewalls of the explosion-cylinder, managed the arrows in Fig. 2 of the nae' 3'6" dla thus taken the incoming charge, as above desfcr'ibedfit mustbe-obvious-that the spent tees arej'firstcentrally separated by theinoming 'chargs ne tl'iereafter are succesivelyforced-outward anddownward until xii frnade'complete. The exployl'iiderfinbluding itsclearance-space, thoroughly scavenged,'and this is yencaged column ofair entering from rgin -port in advance of the explosive mixture, thusavoiding any waste of the exp1osive mixture through the exhaust and a1-ways leeping body of air between the exhausting gases and the effectivechargeof the coming explosive'mixture, thereby preventg-"'either prematur'e or back explosions. Under the return or inward movements oftheeppo'sin'g pistons the cylinder-ports will alhbeoovered andclosed bythe pistons, and 1 so'fthe" chargewill' be. compressed to the properdegree'andat'the right instant will be ignited 'by spark-iro'inthe plug23, thus eiiecting the e x"-plosioif and producing the working strokeso'f the two" opposing pistons. t 11 "5 5 a The re ulation of the speedof the engine controlled" by thegoverning-valve 21, hithart-o noted,which may be made to throttle i'th'i the inlet-passage leading from themixf--ture-'in let valve 19 to the compression-chain-"6o="b'erA,;or"tothrottle the charging-passage a 1;: t -a po'in'tdirectly above the said mixture- "'n1et vaIi/*e 19;-; e l oicationof'themixture-inlet valve 19 t co mpressingjend of the charging-pas---1.'65' sa'ge iv,diiaistlie admission-valve 20 at ithistre sultidisposit causes the freshmixturetdrawn in, through the inletvalve 19 tomeet wingsi Owing to the courses of travel- Qlld hereof sa featu'reofimporg erifect vaporization ofthe lv-e 21 alsocoopen ve 19 ,m securingion'of said parts and cross the col umn of old mixture drawn back fromthe charging-passage a at and around said inlet and governing valves 19and 21, thus securing thorough commingling and vaporization of the twocolumns of mixture. usage I have demonstrated the efiiciency of saiddescribed relation of saidinlet-valve. 19

to the charging-passage a, equipped with the air-admission valve 20 andcooperating, as. described, for securing the good results in respect tovaporization above set forth. In comparing the engine herein disclosedwith the engine disclosed in my prior patent, No. 683,886, of dateOctober 1, 1901', it should be noted that the upper piston 9 actssion-port 7 to the explosion-cylinder 6, that the compression ohamber Acorresponds to the compression chamber 1 beneath the larger member ofthe differential piston 6 of said prior patent, and that themixture-inlet valve 19 and the air-admission valve 20 in the presentapplication operate under the control of the compression end of thedifferential piston, all on the same principle as in my said priorpatent. Said chamber, 4 in my prior patent and said chamber A in thepresent case might very properly be called charging-chambers.

Respecting the distribution of the strains from the explosions, itfollows from the fact that the opposing pistons are connected toopposing cranks from opposite sides of the crank-shafts, as hithertodescribed, that all of said strains from the explosion will be equallydistributed on the crankshaft. and. the other working parts of theengine, thus afl'ording a balance action throughout.

Having now regard to the distribution of the cooling-water, the smallport 34 of,the

explosion-cylinder, connecting, through pipe e 33, with the waterstand-pipe 26, as

scribed, is so located that the same will be uncovered'by onset theopposing pistons, this, as shown, being the upper piston 9, shortlybefore the exhaust-port 8 begins to be uncovered by the opposing piston13, and from this disposition of said parts it follows that gas from theexplosion-cylinder, at or near its final or expanded pressure, Will beadmitted into thewater stand-pipe 26 and ,become effective to force thewater past the check-valve 28 and through the circulating system,including the water-jacket space of the explosion-cylinder and theoverfloxvepipe By actual I hltough the inlet-valve 19,

as a charging-valve for controlling the admis- 23, and it furtherfollows that when the exhaust-port 8- is uncovered'by the piston memeher 13 the gas in the stand-pipe 26 will be exhausted therefrom alongwith the exhaust of the engine, and thereupon the inlet checkvalve 27 ofthe stand-pipe will open therein after the port 34 was closed, thusflowage or compression thereof.

permitting the stand-pipe again to refill to its original level. Thepresence of the air-reservoir 32 cushions the action and makes theflowage through the circulating system continuous under the impulsesintermittently imparted to the water from the stand-pipe. Thethrottle-valve 31 enables the quantit of the water-fiowage to beregulated at wilf The said stand-pipe and connections described thusenable the required cooling-water to be circulated by direct pressurefrom the explosion-cylinder itself and constitute an extremely simpleand efficient means for accomplishing this result.

Having regard now to they distribution of the lubricating-oil, it shouldfirst benoted. that the displacement effected by the differential orlarger piston 15 within the lubricating-chamber B, underthe dimensionsshown,

is twice as great as the combined displacement effected by the pistonmembers 9 and 13, and hence it follows that the body of air within saidlubricating-chamber B will move or flow under a pulsating actionthroughout all the channels or spaces available for the The differentialor larger iston 15 is of cup sha e on its up er face, t us affording areceptac e for the lu ricating-oil, and under the reciprocating motionof said piston the oil will be thrown upward into the pulsating body ofair, and suflicient thereof will be carried by the air into contact withthe working parts of the engine to furnish an abundance of oil theretofor the required lubrication thereof. Otherwise stated, the oil and airwithin the lubricating-chamber B are, when the engine is in motion,continuously subject to the action of all the cranks and all the pistonsand the oil to a dashing action through the pulsating air, with theresult that all parts of the, Engine will be thoroughly lubricated thereThe lubricating-oil is sup lied to the chamber B through a suitable f1ling-plug 85, provided for the purpose in the base-casting 1.

The volume capacity of the lubricatingchamber B is so great that thedifferential displacement produced by the larger piston 15 resuitsonlyin a very low compression therein under dimensions shown, and, moreover,any.power consumed in effecting the compression within thelubricating-chamber Bv under the compression-stroke of the differentialiston within said lubricating-chamher wilfbe given back to the saidpiston dur ing its return or expansion stroke.

.works in said explosive-cylinder, and controls the exhaust-port, andthe larger member of which works in a charging-cylinder on the oppositeside of the crank-shaft, and is connected thereto, substantially asdescribed.

2. In a two-cycle explosive engine, the combination of a pair ofopposing pistons working in a common explosion-cylinder,

one controlling the exhaust-port and the other the admission-port ofsaid cylinder, and one of which pistons encircles the crankshaft, andwhich two opposing pistons are connected to opposing cranks fromopposite sides of the crank-shaft, substantially as described.

3. In a two-cycle explosive-engine, the combination of a pair ofopposing pistons working in a common explosion-cylinder, one controllingthe exhaust-port and the other the admission-port of said cylinder, andone of which pistons is differential and encircles the crank-shaft, andwhich two opposing pistons are connected to opposing cranks fromopposite sides of the crank-shaft, substantially as described.

4. In a two-cycle explosive-engine, the combination of a pair ofopposing pistons working in a common explosion-cylinder,

one controlling the exhaust-port and the other the admission-port ofsaid cylinder, one

of which pistons is differential and encircles the crank-shaft, whichtwo opposing pistons are connected to opposing cranks from oppositesides of the crank-shaft, and which pistons divide space outside theexplosion-cy inder into two chambers, one of which serves as thecompression-chamber and the other of which serves as alubricating-chamber, substantially as described.

5. In a two-cycle explosive-engine, the

combination of a pair of opposing pistons working in a commonexplosion-cylinder, controlling, one the exhaust-port and the other theadmission-port, of said cylinder, one of which pistons is differentialand encircles the crank-shaft, which two opposing pistons are connectedto opposing cranks from opposite sides of the crank-shaft, and whichpistons divide space outside the explosion-cylinder into acompression-chamber and lubricating chamber, the contents of whichlubricatingchamber are subject to the action of the cranks and thepistons for effecting the distribution of the lubricating-oil to all theworking parts of the engine, substantially as described.

6. In a two-cycle explosive-engine, the combination of a pair ofopposing pistons working in a common explosion-cylinder, controlling,one the exhaust-port and the other the admission-port of said cylinder,one of which pistons is differential and encircles the crankshaft, whichtwo opposing pistons are connected to opposing cranks from oppositesides of the crank-shaft, and which pistons divide space outside theexplosion-cylinder into two chambers, one of which serves as thecornpressiomchamber having a charging-passage leading to theadmission-port of theexplosion-cylinder, and which compression-chamberis provided with an inletevalve for the explosive mixture, substantiallyas described.

7. In a two-cycle explosive-engine, the combination of a pair ofopposing pistons working in a common explosion-cylinder, controlling,one the exhaust-port and the other the admission-port, of said cylinder,one of which pistons is differential and encircles the crank-shaft,which two opposing pistons are connected to opposing cranks fromopposite sides of the crank-shaft, and which pistons divide spaceoutside the explosion-cylinder into two chambers, one of which serves asa compression-chamber having a charging-pas sage leading to theadmission-port of the explosion-cylinder, an inlet-valve for the eX-plosive mixture at the compressing end of said charging-passage, and. anair-admission valve at the outer end of said charging-passage, all forcor'iperation, substantially as described.

8. In atWo-cycle explosive-engine, the combination of a pair of opposingpistons working in a common explosion-cylinder, controlling one theexhaust-port and the other the admission-port of said cylinder, one ofwhich pistons is difierential and encircles the crank-shaft, which. twoopposing pistons are connected to opposing cranks from opposite sides ofthe crank-shaft and Which-pistons divide space outside theexplosion-cylinder into two chambers, one of which serves as acompression-cha mber having a charging-passage leading to theadmission-port of the explosion-cylinder, an inlet-valve for theexplosive mixture at the compressing end of said chargingpessage, anair-admission valve at the outer end of said charging-passage andgoverning-valve located in said chargingpassage directly inward of saidmixture-inlet valve, and operative to throttle either the mixture-inletor said charging-passage, at will, all for COPbAtfiOIl substantially asdescribed.

In testimony wit areof I affix my signature in presence of two aIlJZ'Li'E-SSQS.

ELLIS J. WOOLF.

'Witnesses:

JAS; F. WILLIAMsON, 5. D. Mnnonsnr.

